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Google+ has been through a lot of changes this year and speculations have definitely been circulating—Google may be veering away from Google+, Google+ content is no longer a part of SERPs, Google+ is deleting features without adding new ones, etc. The more you can understand what it all means for your business the sooner you can start to optimize correctly and not waste any time.

Google+ is definitely still a worthwhile network to get involved with at the company level for visibility, even despite all of the talk of it “losing importance,” but optimization is key. Now, in 2016, you need to know how to use it and why it matters now in order to really reap the benefits.

The Basics: Fill Out All Information Completely

Of course your first step in optimizing any social network is filling out the basics. This means making sure you have your description, company name, an image, and your NAP (name, address, phone number) information up to date. It’s really as simple as that. Once you get all of the basics down and ready to go, only then can you can start to really get optimizing.

Quick Ways to Optimize Your Google My Business Page

Having a business page may no longer be the greatest for search engine results, but it is still a search engine that allows you to connect with your audience and keep all of your information in one place. It’s also crucial for local SEO, which you can learn more about here.

Below are five different things you can do to make sure your Google My Business account is optimized to the fullest:

Do Some Keyword Research

So filling out the “basic” information above is a must, but using keywords when filling out this information is your more advanced step. You can’t do keyword research specifically for Google+ necessarily, but the keyword research you do for your website should work well. Use the Keyword Planner to get ideas, and then incorporate those words naturally in your description and title if possible.

Create a Video and Add More Photos

You always want to be able to add as many photos as possible, and a video helps keep your page interesting and engaging. Again, the benefits you get here are very similar to your actual website. Google+ is quickly becoming a place for people to search businesses and reviews, much like Yelp, as opposed to a social network, which may have been the original intention. This means that photos and videos of your business are crucial to setting yourself apart from the competition.

Post Relevant Content Using the Insights Tool

Believe it or not, part of optimizing your page is posting relevant content. Although it’s true that Google+ posts won’t show up on a Google SERP, Google still indexes this content (and who knows if this will be the case in the future). This means that you want to publish content that is relevant from a Google perspective, not to mention the fact that relevant content helps you become more credible, draw in more targeted readers, keep readers browsing your page and connecting, and more.

Here is where many business fail, however: In order to determine what content is relevant, it’s important to use the Insights Tool. Just as you would with a website, you want to be looking at data to see who your Google+ audience is and what they are sharing. Use this data to help guide your content calendar. Below is a small snippet screenshot of the kinds of insights you’ll see when you navigate to the Insights tab:

Stay on Top of Comments and Reviews

Believe it or not, this is part of optimization. Not only does it help you maintain a good relationship and create connections with your audience, but Google also likes to see that you respond to reviews. It shows you’re active on your account, which can help it gain traction in the search results.

What else would you add to the list for optimizing a Google My Business page? Check out this article from our sister site HigherVisibility for a few more ideas, and then let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.